Following Non-Muslims
Question:
i read your answer about French Beard, and i agreed but i have came across a confusion: the Prophet allowed a companion to erect a pulpit for him which he saw in a church, on the other hand, once his companions requested him to appoint a tree for them to hang their weapon on, like that of jews who had appointed a tree for that purpose, the prophet objected that their demand was like the people of Moses who asked him to make a idol their lord when they was some people worshiping idols.
how do you find compatibility between the two Ahadith?
Answer:
Before trying to see how two Hadiths are compatible we should first see whether they are both authentic. I however answer this question disregard of whether the two Hadiths are authentic or not as I think the text of the two Hadiths (as narrated by you) are very clear in answering your question:
The first Hadith is simply about taking advantage of an idea that Christians developed to make life easier (the audience being able to see the speaker and hear him better). There is nothing wrong with this. We are not supposed to reinvent the wheel just to avoid 'following non-Muslims'.
In fact, on a more general note, it will be a hypocritical attitude if we question 'following non-Muslims' per se when we are following non-Muslims today in many ways to take benefit of many technological advances that they have brought to our life (including possibility of using a website for asking questions). We should be more specific and talk about 'following wrong beliefs and deeds of non-Muslims (and Muslims)' rather than 'following non-Muslims'.
The second Hadith (as you narrated it) clearly refers to a situation where a simple act may lead to idol worshiping. It appears from the text of what you narrated that the concern was that hanging weapons of Jihad on a tree may gradually develop itself to the idea that the tree becomes holy and becomes a centre of worshiping, as an idol.
So the first Hadith (as narrated by you) is about following non-Muslims in their good ways while the second Hadith (as narrated by you) is about following non-Muslims in their bad ways.
One last trivial point about French Beard: Whether what some people refer to as 'French Beard' is really originated in France (and by Non-Muslims) or not is not known to me.
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June 2013
i read your answer about French Beard, and i agreed but i have came across a confusion: the Prophet allowed a companion to erect a pulpit for him which he saw in a church, on the other hand, once his companions requested him to appoint a tree for them to hang their weapon on, like that of jews who had appointed a tree for that purpose, the prophet objected that their demand was like the people of Moses who asked him to make a idol their lord when they was some people worshiping idols.
how do you find compatibility between the two Ahadith?
Answer:
Before trying to see how two Hadiths are compatible we should first see whether they are both authentic. I however answer this question disregard of whether the two Hadiths are authentic or not as I think the text of the two Hadiths (as narrated by you) are very clear in answering your question:
The first Hadith is simply about taking advantage of an idea that Christians developed to make life easier (the audience being able to see the speaker and hear him better). There is nothing wrong with this. We are not supposed to reinvent the wheel just to avoid 'following non-Muslims'.
In fact, on a more general note, it will be a hypocritical attitude if we question 'following non-Muslims' per se when we are following non-Muslims today in many ways to take benefit of many technological advances that they have brought to our life (including possibility of using a website for asking questions). We should be more specific and talk about 'following wrong beliefs and deeds of non-Muslims (and Muslims)' rather than 'following non-Muslims'.
The second Hadith (as you narrated it) clearly refers to a situation where a simple act may lead to idol worshiping. It appears from the text of what you narrated that the concern was that hanging weapons of Jihad on a tree may gradually develop itself to the idea that the tree becomes holy and becomes a centre of worshiping, as an idol.
So the first Hadith (as narrated by you) is about following non-Muslims in their good ways while the second Hadith (as narrated by you) is about following non-Muslims in their bad ways.
One last trivial point about French Beard: Whether what some people refer to as 'French Beard' is really originated in France (and by Non-Muslims) or not is not known to me.
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June 2013
